Historical society shares plans to preserve the old

Historical Society of Forsyth County invites community to discover their backyard’s past

Historical Society of Forsyth County President Martha McConnell restoring gravesites

GEORGE PIRKLE/Talking Rock Productions

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Tuesday, August 14, 2012 12:00 am

Caitlin Shelby

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FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Cemeteries are historic, common ground for the mourning and daring alike.

Last summer, as volunteers for the Historical Society of Forsyth County and several local Boy Scouts restored Diana’s Chapel Cemetery, something much “deeper” brought them together.

They discovered bones in a 140-year-old gravesite.

Though such extreme physical history is admittedly rare for the society, President Martha McConnell tells of countless historical happenings.

“It’s just always an adventure,” McConnell said. “We work well together. We have a good time when we’re on the project. Restoring those graves has been a lot of hard work, but I know when it’s finished we’re going to be so glad that we started.”

Later this month, the historical society plans to reenter the bones, identified as that of the Scudder family, when construction on the above-ground memorial begins.

The bones were scattered by grave robbers who believed Cherokee Indian gold was buried along with the family.

But the society has several more plans they hope will benefit even the youngest generations of Forsyth County.

In the next year, the society will host local history classes, making them available on their website for view along with informational text.

Historical society members also plan to educate local teachers, so that they in turn can open a timeless portal to their students.

Residents with Forsyth family ties can be enlightened on their own heritage when they join the society or volunteer.

“My family’s been here a long time,” McConnell said. “I thought I knew everything, but I really knew very little about the county until I started doing the research on it.”

Volunteers assist in jobs such as filing and scanning vintage photos, restoring characteristic old houses, creating the heritage books and compiling databases of photos and historic information.

Cemetery work is also available for those interested.

“We’d be glad for anyone to volunteer, anyone to join our group,” McConnell said. “It makes you appreciate the people who have been here and what they’ve done before us.”

Visit www.historicforsyth.com or call 678-455-7260 for more information.